Cessna 340A N312GC

Summary

On 4 October 2013 at about 20:00 local time, a Cessna 340A registered N312GC, operated by Parrish James M, was involved in an accident near Paulden, Arizona, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 October 2013 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Paulden, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

34.8653, -112.5228

Aircraft

Cessna 340A

Registration

N312GC

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

2

Operator

Parrish James M

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bullhead City → Prescott

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR14LA005

4 people died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain sufficient altitude to clear a radio tower while maneuvering at low altitude and his decision to make a high-speed, low pass over the gun club.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

Witnesses located at a gun club reported observing the airplane make a high-speed, low pass from north to south over the club's buildings and then maneuver around for another low pass from east to west. During the second low pass, the airplane collided with a radio tower that was about 50 ft tall, and the right wing sheared off about 10 ft of the tower's top. The tower's base was triangular shaped, and each of its sides was about 2 ft long. One witness reported that the airplane remained in a straight-and-level attitude until impact with the tower. The airplane then rolled right to an almost inverted position and subsequently impacted trees and terrain about 700 ft southwest of the initial impact point. One witness reported that, about 3 to 4 years before the accident, the pilot, who was a client of the gun club, had "buzzed" over the club and had been told to never do so again. A postaccident examination of the engines and the airframe revealed no evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.